122 Chapter 121
Staring at the slip of paper containing a phone number and the time when Luna finished her shift, Izuku shook his head and exhaled a faint sigh. He had similar thoughts in the past, but the ease at which he was able to get the apparently Italian girl's number left him once again thinking he was in an eroge or a doujinshi.
"It's a real shame..." muttered Izuku, crumpling up the slip of paper and slipping it into his pocket to dispose of later. He wouldn't have minded having a one-night stand with Luna, but there was a time and a place for everything, and he wasn't in a position to act without inhibitions. He did, however, leave her a 300% service tip since he felt responsible for giving her the wrong impression.
With the elevator reaching the floor he was staying on, Izuku's eyes opened in surprise when the doors parted to reveal Toshinori in a yellow tuxedo and Cathleen, the latte resembling a female bodybuilder that had squeezed themselves into a black dress.
While Toshinori's eyes widened like Izuku's, Cathleen smiled broadly and said, "Oh, if it isn't your Sidekick. What was his Hero Name again? I think it was something cute like Kyokan?"
"It's Paragon," replied Toshinori, waggling the index finger of his right hand as he added, "Also, he's not my Sidekick! Paragon here might be young, but he's already a fine Hero!"
"Oh? If it's you saying it, it must be true," mused Cathleen, extending her left fist to Izuku as she added, "Nice to meet ya, kiddo!"
Though he was somewhat reluctant, Izuku returned Cathleen's fist bump, replying, "It's nice to meet you as well. Are the two of you heading down to get something to eat?"
Adopting a massive, toothy grin, Cathleen elbowed Toshinori in the side, stating, "It's my job to keep this big lug in check if he goes out of control, so yeah, we're grabbing a bite to eat together. I'd invite you to join us, but I'm sure you have your own thing going on."
Understanding that Cathleen was effectively telling him to stay out of the way, Izuku returned a curt nod and said, "Some other time, then." before making way for the golden-haired duo. Cathleen fawning over Toshinori risked throwing a wrench into his plans, but the latter's private life wasn't exactly his business...
Before the elevator doors could close, Toshinori said, "Sir was looking for you. He's staying in room 4203."
"Noted," replied Izuku, raising his hand in a casual farewell gesture and waiting for the doors to close before turning around, waltzing down a corridor filled with suit and sunglasses-wearing agents as he made his way to Nezu's suite. Several followed him with their gazes, but none tried to bar his passage as he approached the reinforced door numbered 4203 and pressed the doorbell.
"Are you Izuku Midoriya," asked the voice of a woman over the intercom.
"Last I checked," replied Izuku, raising his brows slightly as he pondered who the voice belonged to. He knew Nezu was planning to introduce him to the Pendragons, but he figured it would occur at a private dinner party or something similar.
"You are permitted entry," said the woman, followed by the door unlocking with a heavy thud. When it opened, a petite woman in a Maid outfit came into view, her inky-black hair styled in two distinct buns and her pupilless golden eyes exhibiting little emotion as she stared up at Izuku with a gaze that caused his Intuition to trigger...
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Name: [Ferrus Lindsey Harington]
Title: Arachnoid Assassin(Agility+30, Vitality+20, Dexterity+50)
Quirk: Death Leg
Bond Level: 50
Current Level: 63
Effective Level: 106
[Attributes]
Strength: 88
Agility: 132
Vitality: 309
Intelligence: 124
Dexterity: 289
Luck: 119
Free Attributes: 315
[Perks]
[Cold-blooded]
[Skills]
[Stealth], [Homing], [Armor Piercing], [Explosive Ordinance]
[Cold-blooded]: Invisible to thermal detection.
[Stealth]: Able to blend into your environment, becoming harder to detect.
[Homing]: Fires bullets that can curve around an object to hit a specified target.
[Armor Piercing]: Fires a high-velocity bullet that can penetrate most defenses.
[Explosive Ordinance]: Fire an incendiary projectile that can bounce off surfaces and be detonated remotely.
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Seeing the petite woman's Title, Level, Perk, and Skills, Izuku's eyes widened quite a bit. Ferrus's resembled an ordinary Maid at a glance, but everything about her status made it clear she took out more than simple garbage...
Sensing that Izuku had seen through her, Ferrus narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly as she stood to the side, gesturing toward the room's interior as she said, "Sir Nezu and my Mistress are awaiting you within..."
Though it caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up, Izuku made his way past Ferrus, making his way deeper into the suite to find Nezu and a remarkably beautiful woman with pale golden hair sitting at opposite ends of a dining table. Her Level wasn't particularly impressive, but the status of two lasses beside her caused Izuku's pupils to contract to the size of pinholes...
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Name: [Julianna Soliel Pendragon]
Title: Frost Queen(Vitality+100)
Quirk: Incitement
Bond Level: 57
Current Level: 34
Effective Level: 35
[Attributes]
Strength: 14
Agility: 25
Vitality: 332
Intelligence: 118
Dexterity: 51
Luck: 77
Free Attributes: 170
[Perks]
[Ice Affinity]
[Skills]
[Lesser Mana Detection], [Second Circle Ice Magic]
[Ice Affinity]: Increases affinity for and resistance against ice.
[Lesser Mana Detection]: Able to sense and manipulate Mana to an extent.
[Second Circle Ice Magic]: Able to manipulate Ice Elemental Energy to freeze or reduce the mobility of targets.
Known Spells: Ice Bolt, Frost Touch, Snow Field
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Name: [Historia Kunegunda Pendragon]
Title: Chosen Knight of the Foundry(Strength+100, Agility+100, Vitality+200, Luck+100)
Quirk: Lord of Camelot, Armory, Displacement, Tempest, Discernment
Bond Level: 57
Current Level: 81
Effective Level: 188
[Attributes]
Strength: 144
Agility: 163
Vitality: 959
Intelligence: 89
Dexterity: 142
Luck: 407
Free Attributes: 90
[Perks]
[Authority(Artorias)], [Mana Detection], [Dragon's Heart], [Dragon Scales], [Wind Manipulation]
[Skills]
[Omni-Weapon Specialist], [Fifth Circle Wind Magic], [Elementalization], [Great Divide], [Decapitating Strike], [Spatial Pierce]
[Authority]: The one who bears the Authority of Artorias possesses great charisma and can only be slain by a member of their own family.
Restriction: British Isles
[Dragon's Heart]: Vitality and Mana Capacity increase exponentially with age.
[Dragon Scales]: The user is impervious to most forms of blunt, piercing, and magical damage but weak against weapons with the Anti-Divine and Anti-Dragon traits.
[Wind Manipulation]: The user can feel the flow of air around them and manipulate it freely.
[Omni-Weapon Specialist]: The user has innate familiarity with most types of weapons.
[Fifth Circle Wind Magic]: Able to manipulate Wind Elemental Energy to hasten movements and slice through opponents.
Known Spells: Haste, Aero Bolt, Tempest Armor, Garuda's Wing, Wind of Fortune, Hurricane Crash
[Elementalization]: Able to transform the body into Wind Elemental Energy for a short period.
[Great Divide]: Condense Mana to create a blade capable of splitting the Earth and foes alike.
[Decapitating Strike]: Drastically increases cutting power when aiming for the neck of an opponent.
[Spatial Pierce]: An attack that ignores distance and defense to pierce a target in a straight line.
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Name: [Rebecca Schneider]
Title: Tiny Tinkerer(Intelligence+50, Luck+50)
Quirk: Metallurgy
Bond Level: 64
Current Level: 59
Effective Level: 108
[Attributes]
Strength: 63
Agility: 27
Vitality: 353
Intelligence: 215
Dexterity: 165
Luck: 257
Free Attributes: 295
[Perks]
[Genius], [Mana Detection], [Dexterous Fingers]
[Skills]
[Cartography], [Auto-Mapping], [Sense Trap], [Trap Activation], [Sense Treasure], [Resource Detection], [Monster Magnet]
[Genius]: Doubles Experience gains. Half as effective when sharing Experience.
[Mana Detection]: Able to sense and manipulate Mana to a reasonable degree.
[Dexterous Fingers]: Your fingers are quick, incredibly flexible, and allow you to discern things through touch, even with your eyes closed.
[Cartography]: Allows the user to produce maps so long as they are supplied with Mana and ink.
[Auto-Mapping]: When actively utilizing a map, an area of 5x5 meters is automatically inscribed.
[Sense Trap]: Diffiuse Mana through a terrain or dungeon to detect traps within twenty meters. Additional Mana can be used to increase the range up to 100m.
[Trap Activation]: Remotely activate traps detected by the Sense Trap Skill.
[Sense Treasure]: Diffuse Mana through a terrain or dungeon to detect treasure within twenty meters. Additional Mana can be used to increase the range up to 100m.
[Resource Detection]: Automatically detect water, rare minerals, and other natural resources within ten meters.
[Monster Magnet]: You are the natural enemy of Mimics, Changelings, and Doppelgangers. Monsters will instinctually prioritize attacking you.
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Before Izuku could thoroughly peruse their statuses, Julianna remarked, "You must be Izuku Midoriya, the young man that will soon attend the Royal Academy of Heroics alongside my daughter, Historia. Sir Nezu has told us much about you."
Bowing his head respectfully but maintaining a dignified countenance, Izuku courteously replied, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Pendragon."
"Likewise," replied Julianna, shifting her gaze to Historia and Rebecca, stating, "Introduce yourselves."
Rising to her feet, Historia, wearing a sleeveless white blouse with a blue ribbon, a blue skirt, and black stockings, crossed a hand over her chest and bowed at a concise, fifteen-degree angle as she said, "Well met, Sir Midoriya. My name is Historia Kunegunda Pendragon, but my friends call me Histy. In public and at school, please refer to me as Arthur."
Frowning slightly, Julianna looked like she wanted to correct Historia but ultimately remained silent. At the same time, Rebecca, her pigtailed head barely above the table's surface when standing, performed an awkward bow and nervously muttered, "It's nice to meet you...my name is Rebecca Wahldorf. At school, please refer to me as Bedivere..."
Nodding his head, Izuku emulated Historia's act of placing her hand over her chest, bowing his head slightly as he replied, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, Historia, Rebecca. I generally do my own thing, but I look forward to fighting alongside you within the breaches."
"It's convenient that you would bring that up," said Nezu. "It appears that Ms. Historia and Ms. Rebecca have been clearing C and B-Rank breaches for quite some time. Their most recent venture placed them against a vast horde of Goblins, led by a Hobgoblin Chieftain."
Though it earned her a disproving look from her mother, Historia's eyes glistened as she added, "It was a heart-poundingly thrilling experience! When the Hobgoblin Chieftain summoned a series of tiny meteors, why, I thought my heart might burst out of my chest!"
Matching Julianna's expression, Rebecca frowned as she cast a sidelong glance at her lifelong friend and softly lamented, "You're making a scene, Histy..."
"Indeed," added Julianna. However, instead of chastising her daughter, she redirected her gaze to Izuku, asking, "If you don't mind my asking, what Level are you, Sir Midoriya? Sir Nezu informs me you have at least some familiarity with the breaches."
Though he tensed slightly, Izuku showed no obvious signs of hesitation as he replied, "I recently attained Level 50. However, in terms of stats, I am closer to Level 110 and can enhance my body to approximate the stats of a Level 900."
Hearing Izuku's response, Julianna's usually cold, borderline apathetic countenance gave way to an expression of dignified yet open-mouthed stupefaction. Rebecca exhibited a markedly more comical version of the same emotion, but Historia's reaction stood out the most.
Like the battle junkie Izuku suspected her to be, a broad smile blossomed across Historia's face, her green eyes glistening as she linked her hands behind her back and said, "Once you become a student at the academy, it would be my honor to face you in a duel."
"Absolutely not!" interjected Julianna, staring at her daughter as if Historia had lost her mind. Unfortunately, the latter didn't seem to hear her as her gaze was firmly fixed on Izuku, awaiting his response like a child that had just asked Santa if they could have a pony for Christmas.
With Julianna ultimately shifting her gaze toward him, her stare even more intense than her daughter's, carrying with it an unspoken threat, the smile on Izuku's face visibly cramped as he awkwardly replied, "Allies shouldn't fight amongst themselves..."
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(A/N: Beware the battle junkie...)
